In the past they were called “books-on-tape”. Of course, that was well before CDs, much less digital streaming. Today, they have a much better name; audiobooks.
An audiobook allows you to read a book by, well, listening to it. It’s kind of like having somebody read a book out loud to you (okay, it’s precisely that). You can engage with new ideas, get swept away in a story, or learn something new. Audiobooks are an excellent way to pass the time and enrich your mind.
Turns out, they’re also a great way to achieve some auditory training.
What’s auditory training?
So you’re most likely rather curious about exactly what auditory training is. It sounds complex and a lot like school.
As a specialized kind of listening, auditory training is created to give you a stronger ability to perceive, process, and understand sounds (known medically as “auditory information”). One of the primary uses of auditory training is to help people learn to hear with their new hearing aids.
Because neglected hearing loss can cause your hearing to become used to a quieter environment and your brain can grow out of practice. So your brain will have to cope with a huge influx of new auditory information when you get new hearing aids. In practice, this often means that your brain can’t process those sounds as well as it generally does (at least, not at first). Consequently, auditory training often becomes a helpful exercise. (As a side note, auditory training is also useful for individuals who have language learning difficulties or auditory processing disorders).
Another perspective: Audio books won’t really make you hear clearer, but they will help you better understand what you’re hearing.
What happens when I listen to audiobooks?
Auditory training was created to help your brain get accustomed to making sense out of sounds again. If you think about it, humans have a very complicated relationship with noise. Every single sound means something. Your brain has to do a lot of work. The idea is that audiobooks are an ideal way to help your brain get used to that process again, especially if you’re breaking in a new set of hearing aids.
Here are a number of ways audiobooks can assist with auditory training:
- A bigger vocabulary: Who doesn’t want to increase their vocabulary? Your vocabulary will get bigger as you’re exposed to more words. Let your impressive new words impress all of your friends. Maybe those potatoes look dubious, or you’re concerned that bringing your friends along to the bar will really exacerbate your problems with your boyfriend. Either way, audiobooks can help you find the right word for the right situation.
- Listening comprehension: Perceiving speech is one thing, understanding it is another thing completely. Audiobooks help you practice processing and understanding what is being talked about. Your brain requires practice helping concepts take root in your mind by practicing connecting those ideas to words. This can help you follow conversations more closely in your daily life.
- Perception of speech: Audiobooks will help you get accustomed to hearing and understanding speech again. During typical conversations, however, you will have far less control than you will with an audiobook. You can listen to sentences as many times as you need to in order to understand them. This works quite well for practicing making out words.
- Improvements of focus: With some help from your audiobook, you’ll remain focused and engaged for longer periods of time. Perhaps it’s been some time since you’ve been able to participate in a complete conversation, particularly if you’re breaking in a new set of hearing aids. You might need some practice tuning in and remaining focused, and audiobooks can help you with that.
- Improvements in pronunciation: You’ll often need practice with more than just the hearing part. Individuals who suffer with hearing loss often also deal with social isolation, and that can make their communication skills a little out of practice. Audiobooks can help you get a handle on the pronunciation of words, making general communication much easier!
Using audiobooks as aids to auditory training
Reading along with a physical copy of your audiobook is highly recommended. Your brain will adapt faster to new audio inputs making those linguistic links more robust. It’s definitely a beneficial way to enhance your auditory training adventure. That’s because audiobooks enhance hearing aids.
It’s also really easy to get thousands of audiobooks. There’s an app called Audible which you can get a subscription to. You can easily purchase them from Amazon or other online vendors. And you can hear them anywhere on your phone.
And you can also get podcasts on just about every topic in case you can’t find an audiobook you feel like listening to. Your mind and your hearing can be enhanced together.
Can I listen to audiobooks through my hearing aids
Bluetooth functionality is a feature that is included with many contemporary hearing aids. This means you can connect your hearing aids with your cellphone, your speakers, your tv, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device. With this, when you play an audiobook, you won’t need uncomfortable headphones over your hearing aids. Instead, you can listen directly through your hearing aids.
This leads to an easier process and a higher quality sound.
Ask us about how audiobooks can help with your auditory training
So if you think your hearing might be on the way out, or you’re uneasy about getting accustomed to your hearing aids, consult us about audiobooks.